Fonts Basics

Fonts enable the display of text in any media and provide for variations of that display through the use of different typefaces. For the purposes of this discussion, fonts shall mean the electronic files that enable these variations on a computer and in print.

There is an interesting bit of history with the use of the term "font." The way that the word is most commonly used these days is historically incorrect. In the days of printing with metal type, due to the way that type was stored, a font was a single typeface, in a single weight and style. The correct term for the general family of that type was "typeface." Thus, Times Roman was a typeface. Times Roman, 12 point, bold was a font. With the advent of desktop publishing the term font entered the vocabulary of the general public and began to be used in a more general way. Through accepted use it has now come to also mean typeface. You may still find many who understand the difference and use these terms accordingly.

The professional use of fonts to display text information is commonly referred to as "typesetting" and involves the coordination of several text attributes such as typeface selection, line spacing or leading, word spacing, letter spacing or tracking and kerning, the appropriate use of special characters such as punctuation, symbols and ligatures, line length, text alignment and justification, and numerous other details. All of these characteristics have interrelationships and understanding these and how to apply them appropriately is what distinguishes fine typography from word-processing.

Font Formats

There are currently two common electronic font formats, both of which offer some degree cross-platform compatibility. These are called Postscript Type 1 and TrueType. Both are discussed in more detail below. There is also a new emerging format on the horizon called OpenType that offers several improvements to font functionality. Among these are better font portability, deeper character sets and better integration with the Web. But until OpenType is adopted more widely, it is not particularly useful at present.

The installation and use of fonts is related to Operating Systems more than specific software applications. The key to font compatibility is for the identical font resource to be installed on every system where any document that contains that font is used. In the case of cross-platform uses, this means the cross-platform equivalents must be installed. In instances where common fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial, are used, this may be of little concern to content creators. However, when less common fonts are involved, coordination becomes much more important. Fortunately, there is a large overlap of identical typefaces available in both Postscript and TrueType formats, as well as in both Mac and PC formats.

It is important to note that fonts are copyrighted the same as any other software and it is illegal to distribute fonts except in accordance with their license -- read the fine print. Most licenses allow for the sharing of fonts when purchasing electronic output from other suppliers, such as pre-press shops or printing service bureaus. However, these are limited to the output for that single job, unless the service provider also owns a license for the same font. In practice, many service providers do own numerous font licenses.

Postscript Type 1 Fonts

This is vector-based format created by Adobe as part of the specification for the overall Postscript imaging language. It is the font format that enabled the desktop publishing revolution. It is a two-part format that includes an outline (or vector) component and a bitmap (or raster). The outline is the primary part used to display and print the font. The bitmap is generally used as system resource for managing the font and as an alternate screen display component. Both components must be installed for the font to work properly.

To take maximum advantage of Postscript fonts it is best to print to printers that use the Postscript imaging language or are otherwise Postscript compatible. These are very common on our campus. Another useful utility for using Postscript fonts is an operating system utility called Adobe Type Manager or ATM. This utility improves the display of Postscript fonts on computer monitors and to printers that do not support Postscript directly.

The typeface used in the MSU logo and on all official MSU letterhead, envelope and business cards is a Postscript Type 1 font. It is called Stone Informal and comes in three weights: medium, semibold and bold, with italic variants for each. The logotype is semibold and the stationary uses combinations of all three weights. This is an Adobe typeface and can be purchased from Adobe in both Mac and PC versions.

TrueType Fonts

TrueType fonts were developed by a software alliance that included Apple and Microsoft as an alternative to the PostScript format. In the early days of desktop publishing Adobe held a virtual monopoly of the professional electronic font format with the Postscript format. TrueType was proposed to be a new competitive standard. Both Apple and Microsoft adopted TrueType as standard for their operating systems and both include these in their OS installations. However, Postscript's dominance as a professional imaging language in the printing industry and the already wide prevalence of Postscript fonts meant that TrueType has remained a secondary standard. Although Postscript printers can generally process TrueType fonts without problem, Postscript fonts are still the preferred format used by professional print producers. For the most part these two formats co-exist reasonably well and it is not uncommon for both to be installed and used on the same computer.

The TrueType format itself is somewhat similar to Postscript in that it is a vector-based, or outline format. Unlike Postscript, TrueType fonts exist as a single, self-contained file for each typeface. We are not aware of any authorized, i.e. licensed, TrueType versions of the MSU identity typeface, Stone Informal.

Written August 2001.